"Nanoscale Marvels: Harnessing Carbon-Based Quantum Technology"

Researchers at Empa, in collaboration with international teams, have successfully contacted individual graphene nanoribbons using carbon nanotube electrodes. Graphene nanoribbons, which have unique electrical, magnetic, and optical properties, hold great potential for quantum technology applications. The researchers overcame the challenge of accessing and contacting the extremely narrow nanoribbons by using carbon nanotubes of similar size. The success of this experiment opens up possibilities for studying fundamental quantum effects and developing applications in quantum switching, sensing, and energy conversion. Further research aims to manipulate different quantum states on a single nanoribbon and explore the use of nanoribbons as highly efficient energy converters.